Friday, September 5, 2008

"M" is for Mt. Timpanogos


"Crazy" is the word of the week! What was I thinking?! I really wanted to take the kids hiking up to the Timpanogos Caves- so when we knew we'd have the Harris kids at that time- I thought "the more, the merrier". Well, I grossly underestimated the amount of work it would take to get all 9 kids up the mountain!! Luckily, Drew & Colby are both big enough to help out rather than be a nuisance! The older girls, Jody & Ashley, both did well on the way up, but their shoes were really hurting their feet on the way down. The younger kiddos, of course, complained about how steep it was & hot & how tired they were! It was so busy that day that we had to wait for 3 hrs after buying the tickets for the next available cave tour! So, the majority of the kids & I headed down earlier, got the tickets, & then played around up at Mountain Dell while we waited for our time slot. Then Cam & Jody & Ashley drove down separately, arriving just in time to go on the hike! Let me just say- it was well worth the hike! It was so cool to be in there & hear all about the history & see all the cool features of the caves. Not sure I retained most of it (stalagmites, stalagtites, cave columns,??? it's all the same to me ;0) But it was really neat & the kids loved it! Parker got scared when they turned off all the lights to demonstrate how dark it'd be without any lights! Sadie tried to hike off & on, but spent most of the time in her daddy's arms! CJ got the best deal in the group by riding up in his pack on my stomach for a majority of the time, but Drew & Colby took their turns- happily!! It was cute- he was all smiles! Of course he was, his leg muscles weren't screaming for mercy like the rest of ours! I love the pictures I got of Drew looking down at CJ- the love & adoration are so evident! I would definitely recommend taking the cave tour to anyone who hasn't before! The hike is a bit scary & steep in a few spots- so be sure to keep a close eye on your little ones- but overall- it's such a cool experience!! (My calves & shins don't share that opinion ;0)